Most adults have some degree of gum disease. In an advanced form, the ailment accounts for about three quarters of lost teeth. Unhealthy gums can also lead to other health problems including serious infections.
Disease of the gums can be avoided by removal of plaque, especially from under the gum line. Brushing is not sufficient because it does not clean under the gum line between teeth. Consumer organizations have tested the available plaque removing products, including the high tech powered brushes. They report that the most important aspect of proper dental hygiene is flossing.
Proper flossing by hand, however, is an arduous and loathsome regimen. It requires dexterity and some degree of skill to properly manipulate the floss to clean all the interdental surfaces down to the attached gingiva. Dexterous people find flossing tedious and it is exceedingly difficult for the nondexterous. Consequently, an estimated 90 percent of adults have some degree of the disease in spite of efforts by their dentists to teach them how to floss.
An automated flosser is, therefore, needed to reduce the amount of tedious work, perseverance, and dexterity required for proper flossing. After building and testing a variety of powered models, it was found that a practical flosser must have four important features which are:
(1) Means for moving a floss span between teeth with lateral strokes in order to work the floss through the tight spot where adjacent teeth come in contact.
(2) Means for moving the span up and down which, after passing through the tight spot, operates with the lateral motions to remove plaque from interdental surfaces.
(3) Means for protecting the teeth and gums from being hammered by moving parts that reciprocate the floss span.
(4) Means for continuous replacement of the floss span.
Though several powered flossers have been patented, none have the desirable combination described above. The subject invention has the advantage of having the complete combination of above-mentioned features operating in concert. Other advantages will become apparent from consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.